Contractors get help to complete LEED accreditation

Twenty small contractors are getting help from Miami-Dade County to move on to the second phase of a program to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation.

LEED, which was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, is a green building certification system that verifies that a building or community was designed and built with the aim of improving energy savings, water efficiency and indoor environmental quality and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The contractors are part of a group of 39 who got scholarships from the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust (MDEAT) to attend a two-day prep class for LEED accreditation last October at Miami Dade College’s North Campus.

The class provided a review of the LEED rating systems, 400 simulated exam questions, worksheets and strategies to prepare for the professional examination.

At a lottery drawing on Feb. 4 at the Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Center in Miami’s Liberty City community, 20 of them were awarded an additional scholarship to complete the accreditation process.

Dorothy Brown Alfaro was among the lucky ones. MDEAT, she said, gave her the opportunity to take the LEED preparation class last year and she will now go on to take the LEED Green Associate Professional Exam.

“I have made a commitment to myself that I will study and pass the exam in the next 90 days,” Alfaro said.